Song: Founded on an Arabian Anecdote
Away! though still thy sword is redWith life-blood from my sire,No drop of thine may now be shedTo quench my bosom’s fire;Though on my heart ’twould fall more blestThan dews upon the desert’s breast.
I’ve sought thee midst the sons of men,Through the wide city’s fanes;I’ve sought thee by the lion’s den,O’er pathless, boundless plains;No step that mark’d the burning waste,But mine its lonely course hath traced.
Thy name hath been a baleful spell,O’er my dark spirit cast;No thought may dream, no words may tell,What there unseen hath pass’d:This wither’d cheek, this faded eye,Are seals of thee--behold! and fly!
Hath not my cup for thee been pour’dBeneath the palm-tree’s shade?Hath not soft sleep thy frame restoredWithin my dwelling laid?What though unknown--yet who shall restSecure--if not the Arab’s guest?
Haste thee! and leave my threshold-floorInviolate and pure!Let not thy presence tempt me more,--Man may not thus endure!Away! I bear a fetter’d arm,A heart that burns--but must not harm.
Begone! outstrip the swift gazelle!The wind in speed subdue!Fear cannot fly so swift, so well,As vengeance shall pursue;And hate, like love in parting pain,Smiles o’er one hope--we meet again!
To-morrow--and th’ avenger’s hand,The warrior’s dart is free!E’en now, no spot in all thy land,Save this, had shelter’d thee;Let blood the monarch’s hall profane,--The Arab’s tent must bear no stain!
Fly! may the desert’s fiery blastAvoid thy secret way!And sternly, till thy steps be past,Its whirlwinds sleep to-day!I would not that thy doom should beAssign’d by heaven to aught but me.
Words in this poem
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- pathless a.
- Having no beaten path or way; untrodden; impenetrable; as, pathless woods.
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- inviolate a.
- Not violated; uninjured; unhurt; unbroken. [L. inviolatus. See In- not, and Violate.]
- outstrip v. t.
- To go faster than; to outrun; to advance beyond; to leave behing.
- avoid v. t.
- To empty. Wyclif. [OF. esvuidier, es (L. ex) + vuidier, voidier, to empty. See Void, a.]
- sternly adv.
- In a stern manner.
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Song: Founded on an Arabian Anecdote is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Felicia Hemans, Project Gutenberg ebook #66785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Felicia Hemans, Song: Founded on an Arabian Anecdote, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/song-founded-on-an-arabian-anecdote.html, id L19308.
Form and metre
Song: Founded on an Arabian Anecdote is 48 lines in 8 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCC redA · sireB · shedA · fireB · blestC · breastC
- 2 ABABCC menA · fanesB · denA · plainsB · wasteC · tracedC
- 3 ABABCC spellA · castB · tellA · pass'dB · eyeC · flyC
- 4 ABABCC pour'dA · shadeB · restoredA · laidB · restC · guestC
- 5 ABABCC floorA · pureB · moreA · endureB · armC · harmC
- 6 ABABCC gazelleA · subdueB · wellA · pursueB · painC · againC
- 7 ABABCC handA · freeB · landA · theeB · profaneC · stainC
- 8 ABABCC blastA · wayB · pastA · dayB · beC · meC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Away! though still thy sword is red | 8 | ˘/······ |
| With life-blood from my sire, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| No drop of thine may now be shed | 8 | ········ |
| To quench my bosom’s fire; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Though on my heart ’twould fall more blest | 8 | ········ |
| Than dews upon the desert’s breast. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I’ve sought thee midst the sons of men, | 8 | ········ |
| Through the wide city’s fanes; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I’ve sought thee by the lion’s den, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O’er pathless, boundless plains; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| No step that mark’d the burning waste, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But mine its lonely course hath traced. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thy name hath been a baleful spell, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O’er my dark spirit cast; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| No thought may dream, no words may tell, | 8 | ········ |
| What there unseen hath pass’d: | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| This wither’d cheek, this faded eye, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Are seals of thee--behold! and fly! | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Hath not my cup for thee been pour’d | 8 | ········ |
| Beneath the palm-tree’s shade? | 6 | ······ |
| Hath not soft sleep thy frame restored | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Within my dwelling laid? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| What though unknown--yet who shall rest | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Secure--if not the Arab’s guest? | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Haste thee! and leave my threshold-floor | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Inviolate and pure! | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
| Let not thy presence tempt me more, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| --Man may not thus endure! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Away! I bear a fetter’d arm, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| A heart that burns--but must not harm. | 8 | ········ |
| Begone! outstrip the swift gazelle! | 8 | ˘/˘/··˘/ |
| The wind in speed subdue! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Fear cannot fly so swift, so well, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| As vengeance shall pursue; | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| And hate, like love in parting pain, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Smiles o’er one hope--we meet again! | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To-morrow--and th’ avenger’s hand, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| The warrior’s dart is free! | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| E’en now, no spot in all thy land, | 8 | ········ |
| Save this, had shelter’d thee; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Let blood the monarch’s hall profane,-- | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| The Arab’s tent must bear no stain! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Fly! may the desert’s fiery blast | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Avoid thy secret way! | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| And sternly, till thy steps be past, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Its whirlwinds sleep to-day! | 6 | ·/···· |
| I would not that thy doom should be | 8 | ········ |
| Assign’d by heaven to aught but me. | 8 | ˘/·/···· |
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